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Heaven #4748

Dear Gloria,

in http://www.heavenletters.org/conformity-in-the-world-isn-t-the-same-as-o...
last parag.

"I see that all are the cream of the crop. What is all this sorting about? Human beings are not apples that, for commercial purposes, must be a certain size to qualify. Sometimes a little old-fashioned runty apple tastes so good. Where is it written that My children are supposed to be peas in a pod and conformity is best?"

What is an old-fashioned runty apple?

Thanks.

Beloved Normand, when I was

Beloved Normand, when I was very young in New England, apples were not perfect as they seem to be today. I remember you could find small apples on an apple tree. Runty means small. When there is a litter of puppies, the runt of the litter would be the smallest one.

Back then, you would find apples with worms in them. These apples tasted so good!

Now apples are "perfect-looking." Apples seem to be rated on size and perfection. This must be the conformity God speaks of.

On another aspect of this Heavenletter that you brought my attention to, closer to the top, there is the word but used. At first I was a little confused with that! I made sure to put the but's into italics, to make it clearer.

Thanks so much for your input, Normand!

Dear Gloria,this is also

Dear Gloria,
this is also the kind of apples we used to find in apple trees in my childhood. All different sizes and worms included. But we were always looking for the big ones!

The but are clearer than the but's.

But weren't the runty apples

But weren't the runty apples delicious!

Normand, I'm not sure what you mean by your last sentence!

About my last sentence: you

About my last sentence: you said you were not sure about the "but". I didn't see any problem with that. But I found it weird that you write the plural of but with 's.

Dear Normand, it is my

Dear Normand, it is my understanding that this is the way it is done in English! For instance, we would he needs to mind his p's and q's. Or if we were to say, how many A's did you get on your report card, it would be with an apostrophe. Is this just a quirk in the English language, I don't know. I think the apostrophe s for plural would apply to but's and should's and would's and other words as well. I'm pretty sure that is correct in English, yet...

Well, something else new to

Well, something else new to learn...

litle and runty

Dear Gloria,

if runty means small then in this sentence Sometimes a little old-fashioned runty apple tastes so good.. to times little is used.

Maybe little can be left out like this : Sometimes an old-fashioned runty apple tastes so good.
??

from heart to heart, namasté, Anneke

Dearest Anneke, in English,

Dearest Anneke, in English, it's just fine with the word little. It gives a rhythm. In English, it would really be said that way. Logically, of course, it's not necessary. If it's better in Dutch without the repetition, you would know, and you are the translator!

Thank you, Anneke!

found a way

Dear Gloria,

I found a way to translate this sentence in Dutch, so the 'problem' is solved.

from heart to heart, namasté, Anneke

This doesn't surprise me at

This doesn't surprise me at all, dear Anneke!